Humans vs Zombies @ ANU
Posted by reijin in Games, Life, Photography on March 7, 2010
Right, so first update in ages, and my latest photography project:
We are a large student club at the Australian National University dedicated to playing the outdoor tag game known as Humans vs Zombies. HvZ is one of the most entertaining and exciting games (sports) you can play on campus. It’s not only tons of fun but also a great way to make lots of friends, explore the campus, and even get some exercise! In short the game follows two basic rules:
If a human is tagged by a zombie, that human becomes a zombie.
If a zombie is hit with a foam dart, that zombie is ’stunned’ and can’t tag any humans for 15 minutes.
And before anyone says it: We’re totally a sporting club. Yes… sports….
Anyhow, check out the full Flickr gallery here. And expect a proper update of sorts.
The last week when this was running was stupid amounts of fun and paranoia during the time on campus, and definitely hoping to join up again. If you’re a Canberra student, check the website linked above for constant updates – and come to Winter 2010! The more, the better, and the more paranoia. Definitely worth getting the shit scared out of you on a regular basis.
-Reijin out.
How to deal with Rogues as a Warlock
Taken from here. Worth a read, quite amusing. :p
“ROGUES. Weakness: Warlocks
As every experienced Warlock knows, rogues have an inherent need to kill Warlocks. Whether they’re killing a healer in battlegrounds, or DPSing the boss in a raid, all rogues will drop whatever they’re doing if the opportunity to kill a Warlock presents itself. Through great effort, however, we have invented a way to turn this, Warlock-kind’s (Warlock-cruel’s?) greatest frustration, back against the rogues. We call it… the Buddy System.
“The premise is simple: Rogues exhibit behaviors indicative of a mind that can only process one thing at a time. When a Warlock is sighted, any previous action is dropped and replaced with the desire to kill that Warlock. From this we might conclude that “Kill the Warlock” is the highest prioritized thought a rogue can have, and supercedes ANY previous thought the rogue might have had. Keyword “any”.
“So what happens if TWO warlocks are seen? As our superior (and evil) minds might expect, the rogue becomes stuck in a loop. The Rogue moves to kill Warlock A, but this thought is quickly overridden by the need to kill Warlock B. However, once moving towards Warlock B, the need to kill Warlock B is again replaced, and Warlock A becomes the target once more. Using this method, two Warlocks can effectively juggle a rogue for hours, until his or her existence bores them, at which point they may finish him or her at their leisure. Additional Warlocks may be added for extra amusement.
“WARNING: Groups in excess of three may cause the rogue to explode. This is awesome.”
Questioning History
So, here late at night I decide to do another bit of self-reflection to herald in the new year for this blog, it seems.
For anyone still bothering to read this: A Happy New Year to all, even if it is a year late. Something somewhat special about this new set of 365 days, however is that it is indeed part of a new decade. So to all, I would assume it provides a sense of renewal, energy, and re-birth for people around the globe.
Why do people find such enlightenment in spiritual things, in deities, the stars, astrology, relationships, feelings, down to the mundane things that make people feel awesome, like purchasing PVC figurines (as I seem to be so addicted to), playing games, buying cars, speeding, cutting wrists, etc.?
It’s a question I continuously come back to. I wonder at times, why I have friends, why I need a job, why I do the things I do.
Certainly it doesn’t explain why I feel like crap some nights, feel amazingly good about myself others, and unlike 5 years ago, need some form of reasoning to do things.
Long ago before I was legally an Adult, I would often do things because they simply had to be done. Things like sliding on the floorboards, a la Risky Business, things like photography and gaming. All self-gratuitous acts of violence, stupidity and sheer moronic childishness that in all honesty, made life feel awesome. I cared little for my school life, my friends of the day all reveled in childish immaturity, and the general stupidity and thrill of bothering our paid mentors at the time was quite the way of life.
Fast forward to my college life, things changed. For the first half of 2007, I was much of a loner, generally avoiding other crowds, people, and the like – I hated the school, the life and typically anything. Without resorting to self harm, I usually spent my days playing games at home, avoiding schoolwork and people where possible. However, this was all not without positives. I met a few of my closest friends today, during the first half of the year back then. One of them being Spectre257, who also happens to be the blogger at Delayed Flight. Throughout that year he was everything a friend should be. Helpful in times of need, argumentative in debates and not afraid to toss his usually blunted opinions at me, and most importantly he was one to tell me to get off my high horse quite often.
Needless to say, things in College were quite “serious business”, as I got older. My 2nd year had me meeting more of the friends I treasure dearly nowadays. (If they read this, they’ll know who they are). I was still a delinquent, idiotic, idealistic naive idiot back then, and I partly am now. That said, these guys helped me through. I learned how to deal with people, how to read situations, how to go about life as a proper person in a social environment. I probably owe most of my lively-hood today to these people, and I’m not about to forget that fact anytime soon.
Those carefree days were still amongst the most fun I’ve had in my life. For once, I actually looked forward to going to school, to see friends, to talk about happenings on the internet etc. The valuable things. I learned to be less of a selfish prick, and at the same time valued my friends like gold (and still do). In short, I grew up.
At this stage I was beginning to follow through with some life aspirations – to get a job in Information Technology (a dream held since I was about 12), to learn more about the world, and importantly to never stop learning. Whether or not I followed through with the final one, I have still managed to keep learning something new every year, so that seems to be good enough.
Over the next few years, things start to get dull. Instead of university, I chose full-time work. My guess is as good as anyone’s, that I did that instead of higher education to spite my parents ranting on how golden University was. Perhaps it was my study habits too – One thing I simply cannot do is study. Not without gratification of what I am doing, or where I am going. Anyhow, I started working and continued onwards for the next 24 months.
Through that time there was my fair share of sorting through drama with friends, working through my own muddled head and figuring out where I was going in life, what I wanted, whether or not I liked my job, so on. It was pretty depressing thinking of this, but something I did note – What the hell would I do from here? At this stage I was a pretty big Otaku. Loads of anime, figures, games, consoles, and to most people pointless geekery that would have little value in the world of men, in their suits and business mannerisms.
During this I also picked up Photography, honed my skills buying figures online, and mindlessly bought computer hardware. (Jokingly, imagine if I had a girlfriend to pour my money into…) Filling the gap, without much of a thought or care.
And really, from someone who’s recently gone from High school delinquent to IT Professional, growing up does suck – Yes, there are freedoms. Cars, Money, moving out – but do you really want that? In honesty, I miss the days I could yell for mum to pick me up from school. I miss the days of burning out-dated math textbooks in public bins, of pretending to deal drugs to scare teachers.
One thing, however hasn’t changed about me and I’m glad. The naive thoughts of following my dreams and passions are still here with me. The childish treasuring of all my friends, regardless of who they are, what they’ve done and how they act is still strongly with me. No matter how many times I almost burned out, it’s those thoughts that have helped me get through, that I have somewhere to go still, and if you want to get somewhere, don’t spend your time dawdling on how, and that it’s impossible – Get out there and pursue it. Perhaps you’ll get tired and find a different target, but what have you to lose from that?
Fast-track things to now, and I would never imagine me being here today. I work for a large company as a Network Analyst in a professional environment, I have a car, I’m moving out – Mentally, I’m still abit of a mess, I still have no idea where I want to be in the future, I still complain about being single without doing anything, and I still pour effort into hobbies and games to give me some satisfaction to fill some kind of fictional void.
Importantly, I still have that stupidly childish dream of being an astronomer one day, to keep following what I believe in, to look after mates. Good or bad that I usually put them before me in priorities, who knows – It might bite me some day, until it does I’ll keep doing what I believe in, and that’ll keep me going for now.
Regardless of all that history, I still get thoughts at times too. Why people need friends, why people like hugs, why Superman wears external underwear, so on, so fourth. I’m still questioning why people need to believe in deities, I still question why I like hash browns so much, and why humanity does the things it does.
In the end of it all I’m still a confused heap of crap on the best of times. I can do my job well, I love my hobbies and friends, I laugh when some of them suggest I’m gay, and I still question just about every belief, goings-ons and nonsensical statement. For me? I do things that make me happy. Happy to know my friends are safe, happy to know I got better at taking photos, happy to know I’m doing well in my job that secures my livelyhood. People that call me immature, is it so bad to get what you want?
The death of Common Sense
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn’t always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I’m A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
A Holiday Note
Right, a slightly more serious topic today rather than my usual ranting.
For everyone planning on partying, holiday-ing, drinking, hell – doing anything holiday related, I urge you to keep you and your friends/family safe. There are loads of injuries/deaths that happen on roads (and elsewhere) that could’ve been prevented with a few smarts, so please – Take a hint and don’t get yourself killed.
If you still need convincing, watch the below video.
Some extra hints:
- Cigarette butts: Don’t toss them out the window. If you smoke, fine. Starting a bushfire isn’t.
- Don’t drink and drive (as if you should be told)
- Take plenty of rest stops.
Most of all, enjoy Christmas! But really, do it in a safe manner so someone out there won’t have to put up with a bodybag and can get a stuffed stocking instead.
-Reijin
Happiness is something someone on minimum wage makes you when you should be at work.
So, now once again I am back with yet another biased, mostly uninformed idea and thought, directed at yet another pointless topic.
Firstly let me point out: 2009 sucked. Not sucked in a way that us uselessly informed teenagers say when we can’t get a hot pizza decently, but seriously, properly failed to be an entertaining, fulfilling 365 days. The fact that GM and Chrysler still can’t make a decent car is a testament to that. I also don’t like the word “Pontiac”.
This brings to light the question, what makes a year “Crap”?
Whilst pondering this myself it does bring up a very interesting point. Humans are beings of negativity. We constantly think of the worst, prepare for the worst, get ready for the worst, so on. Unless you’re German, in which case you’ve always got an ample supply of the Wurst. (… right)
Depression, anxiety, annoyance, all very valid syndromes – but why? Is the human race that far out of things to do that we simply give up, complain, lose our hair and buy new cars to get through? Even myself, in a pretty good position in life at the ripe age of 19, I’ve found that the nagging weight of the world is getting to me too. And normally I’m in a very Timon & Pumbaa mood. Why?
I’ve found that over the course of life, us as humans, we need distractions. Be it a set of jiggly’s on a Friday night at some bad-smelling club, a quiet beer at the local (My preference), or sitting at home playing games, they’re all things that keep our mind off things. Unlike when we’re children, we’ll simply play a game for shits and giggles, not so much to take our mind off whatever relationship, life or career problems we may have, games were a pastime as opposed to a distracting hobby. We’re beings of purpose. We have to be able to follow a plan, make a difference, make the world move, as opposed to the MMO-esque grind that day-to-day life is. Unless you’re Gene Kranz.
Entertainers, Politicians, Scientists, Hospital workers, all make a difference to the world in a noticeable manner, yet those of us who work in more mundane lines feel helpless. I mean really, how often do you hear of Bill Murray being depressed? Realistically, if we all worked in field-breaking professions, we’d all be happy. We’d all be fulfilled, knowing that the poor soul just got saved from some horrid disease, or we just launched 3 of them into that big black abyss known as space.
Me? I’d rather be happy knowing another mundane, middle-class salaryman can access the internet so he can get annoyed at the little things too. After all, Happiness is what we make it. Unless you’re GM and the Chrysler group. Then you can’t really make anything. Either way, don’t take this as a quip on the depressed. Hell, we all get a little blue, just another cynical view on why most lines of work aren’t exactly exciting. Maybe we should all go pick up medicine. I hear there’s plenty of demand there – where else would people get sickies from?
-Reijin
The Weather? I could just look up.
So, after much deliberation I’ve begun putting my thoughts into a mental list. Unfortunately a dogs’ breakfast is far from something I’d like to share with people, so here we have arrived, at what is (at this point) an overly-bright LCD monitor in front of me at 2:30AM on the morning of Saturday, December 05, 2009.
As of late I’ve found myself going through a whole lot of changes. Drama with friends and family, my trousers getting a tad too tight, impulse-buying any new technology that has the word “fast” in it – You get the idea.
Some background – I am what one would consider a salary man. I arrive at work at 9:30, drone away haplessly at a computer for 4 hours, take a break, move off to a lunchroom to make pointless conversation , go back to my desk, drone on for a few more hours then move home. There’s not much more to it, my work is highly un-exciting to most, and realistically we’re all going to end up in a similar situation. At this stage, most would expect one to have some form of university qualification, and to also gawk and stare at how you have a position within a large company, with job security similar to the state of lockdown Obamas’ salami would be in at the best of times. The realistic truth of things as they are is far from the shiny future that many students face.
This puts me at my first point. Life isn’t exciting. In most cases, apart from that time on the weekend you’ll end up waking up next to a woman without teeth and missing 3 toes and a nostril, your life will be largely similar to an MMO the South Koreans seem to be able to churn out faster than Heinz baked beans – highly repetitive, and apart from the drunken-sex you had with that leper the other day, you won’t really have too much to write home about apart from the weather. And yet, in this life of mediocrity we still talk about it. Even I, a sleep-deprived shut-in with plenty of intriguing technological discussion that I could engage in will happily start off a phone conversation with “How’s the weather down there?” When I think about how often I resort to this mundane ritual, it’s quite enough to drive a pagan tribe to all cook themselves. Perhaps a form of culinary suicide – They would even be so mad as to tie pink ribbons around the scene for whoever discovers it, complete with arranged silver cutlery. Yet, why people resort to these mundane discussions is beyond even the most qualified psychiatrist or professor in social sciences.
The amount of wasted productivity going into asking about “that high pressure trough” around the Tasman is enough to drive anyone to the point of eating dung instead of Corn-flakes. Even more frustrating is that nobody realizes. We go on about our daily lives, ‘content’ with the state of affairs. Pointless gossip about the state of the country, how our dear Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has gone and had a tantrum at another poor airline hostess, or how the latest back-bench politician (who in reality is only useful for mining his nostrils) has gone and slept with yet another woman. The way people bang on about it is enough to wonder “Are they that bored, or did they want some action too?”
If we carried about with that kind of audacity and diligence for real tasks, imagine what achievements are possible! Man would be living on the moon, I would be capable of having 2 ears at a reasonable price, the GST might actually be useful, and chewing gum may actually be biodegradable without being a plague to brand-name sneakers everywhere. We are beings of procrastination. We’re beings of purpose, once we’ve decided we’ve had enough VB, or finally jammed that slice of lemon into our Corona’s, or finally ran out of two-dollar coins on Thursday night. Simply browsing Facebook, or any other social networking site, I would be quite happy to guarantee that towards the end of a school semester most of the subjects of any pointless post would be about how one regrets the amount of procrastination they have done. Unless it’s Thursday night, in which case they may be complaining about the girl with an extra arm they bought home because they thought it was part of the alcohol-induced blur.
The sheer mediocrity of our lives is staggering. Many people these days live without purpose, without any cause except to survive and that is what’s killing much of the world. Not global warming, nor Michael Atkinson’s teeth. If you look at people, in most cases as we’ve gotten older, we’ve lost much of that childish inspiration, that essence of childhood where you’d giggle in glee as you pulled your older sisters’ Barbie dolls apart, where you used to splash your parents in a pool with water that’d probably been defecated in one too many times, or being left alone at home to watch whatever M-rated movie was on at the time when you shouldn’t have been allowed to. Or laughing at Xena: Warrior Princess and her two trusty sidekicks, jiggling at any sign of danger. (You know you did.)
If we all had that kind of inspiration, the kind that grabs you and compels you to make San Francisco out of lego and subsequently throw bricks at it, our lives would be much more interesting. And isn’t that what we all want? Isn’t that what most people try and add to their lives for abit of spice? Realistically, being immature is the best method to keeping your life exciting. Of course, you could argue that you’ve grown out of it, or you’re too old for it. But what else would you do? Cold fronts? Political combovers? In the ‘Good old days’, you used to just go down and have a beer, race each other in terrible cars, or just laugh at strippers. Nowadays, there is blame and a syndrome for everything. And the minute you know what’s wrong with you, you go off and try and fix it for about a week, then subsequently give up and wage war on Belgium.
So at the end of it, if we were all conscious and retained some of that immaturity we’d still keep most of our sanity, livelihood, and divorce settlements. Am I an immature git? Yes. Would I happily tell penis jokes? Yes. Would I talk about the weather still? Oh yes. The end line is this: if you want an interesting job, and still be the talk of the town no matter what day of the week or season it is, be a weatherman. If you want people to know your name, go murder one.
- reijin
Shakugan no Shana S Ep-01
First I’ll kick this off by saying seriously – what’s with this season and gender-bending. Kampfer, this… And the jokes in just about every other series – I think it might be run dry after a while.
Anyhow, I did laugh pretty hard at this episode – definitely a nice, light-hearted way to start off the third series.
The overall cast hasn’t changed hugely, so it still remains the same cast, but with a new story. Something that might entice you is that it’s also airing in 1080p, which is definitely a welcome change.
As for the main characters, Sakai and Shana haven’t changed much in terms of character design, nor character attributes, so unless it gets worse in the next few episodes and turns into a pile of crap.. (Lunchbox saga in season 2…) anyhow, I guess the term “We’ll see” applies here.
Anyway, give it a watch, see what you think. Hopefully some storyline starts soon… unless I’ve missed it all completely on this ep.
-Reijin